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YouTubeEnglish keyboardist, songwriter, producer, actor and author Rick Wakeman needs no introduction. You probably know him best for playing with the band Yes but did you realise his famous piano work also features on many well known hits? Rick’s life story is fascinating. At the age of 25 he spent 9 months in hospital after suffering a series of heart attacks. By 30, he was one of rock’s greatest superstars and lived a life of excess, collecting a fleet of Rolls-Royces, building a pub in his country mansion, and performing in a long, flowing cape, surrounded by electronic keyboards like a sorcerer. Today at 71 and still wearing his blond hair long, he looks back on the four decades since he hit rock bottom and was forced to sleep on park benches.
Austin trio Nobody’s Girl is making news this week with the release of their very first self-titled album. The Americana/ folk-pop group features Americana/folk-pop young singer-songwriters BettySoo, Grace Pettis and Rebbecca Loebe who joins me now.
The piano used for the recording of the Carol King song is the original that Carol King used. If you like what you hear, check out the new album from Nobody’s Girl.
The song Eaglerock was voted by the Australian Music Industry as the second greatest Australian song of all time. It spent 10 weeks at number one nationally and became a cultural phenomenon with its own dance moves. A couple of months later the group released its debut album Daddy Who Daddy Cool and that became the first Australian recorded album to make number one and broke every record in the book. No-one was surprised. We were all too busy dancing and singing along.
Can you guess who this is? She was born in Detroit in 1950. At age 14 she formed an all-girl band called the Pleasure Seekers in which she played bass. A couple of years later she went to the UK where her first hit sold more than 2 million copies. In the late 70’s she played the character of Leather Tuscadero on the TV series Happy Days. She also played Annie Oakley on the West End. She’s been a radio host, has so far sold more than 55 million records and has just released her fifth book. Still unsure? Check out this zoom and meet SUZI QUATRO
The Band
That distinctive sound came to be – largely thanks to one man – Canadian, Garth Hudson. He was referred to by Time magazine as the most brilliant organist in the rock world. Garth is turning 84 this week. As a session musician, he worked with Emmy Lou Harris, Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen. And apparently was a huge influence on a young Elton John These days Garth Hudson is a recluse and while most agree he’s a rare musical genius, it seems he’s not very good at everyday life. He’s been bankrupt 3 times despite his hugely successful musical career and a few years ago was embroiled in a legal battle after failing to pay his rent for more than 6 years. Really?!
